Colton Vien pitched a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts as the Monte­video baseball team picked up a key West Central Conference South road win over Morris/Chokio-Alberta on Tuesday.

The Thunder Hawks scored what proved to be the winning fun in the fifth inning on Jake Bednar’s RBI single.

Montevideo added two more runs in the sixth. Brett Bergeson and Vien singled and Bergeson scored when Austin Hoehne reached on an error. Jordan Thompson’s suicide squeeze bunt scored Vien with the second run.

Vien worked out of a big jam in the sixth inning when the Tigers had runners on second and third with no outs. Vien got the first out on a comebacker to the mound and he fanned the next two hitters.

“Colton pitched a gem,” said Montevideo coach Tim Epema.

Montevideo is now 4-1 in conference play — a game-and-a-half behind BOLD. The T-Hawks will play the Warriors on Tuesday at Bird Island.

Prior to that, they play at Yellow Medicine East today (Thursday), they will host Worthington and Redwood Valley on Fri­day, and they are at New London-Spicer Monday.